


Heartsong

by traversary



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Happy Ending, M/M, Post-Canon, Riku Appreciation (Kingdom Hearts), Riku Loves Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Sora Loves Riku (Kingdom Hearts)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-27 00:00:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21109343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traversary/pseuds/traversary
Summary: Riku had grown so much in this past year, Sora had trouble recognizing him sometimes. After everything Riku had gone through, Sora couldn’t help admiring his best friend’s strength. Whatever had changed inside of him, he seemed so much stronger now, more focused, like he knew exactly what he was fighting for. So then what was that fear lingering inside of him?





	Heartsong

_The last time you wrote, you asked me when things began to change between us. I wasn’t sure what you meant, but I think I get it now. Remember my first Mark of Mastery?_

“Way to go, Riku!!”

With an ecstatic laugh, Sora swung an arm around Riku’s shoulders and pulled him in for a hug, showering him with nonstop congratulations while the big news was still sinking in. This was amazing--

Riku, a full-fledged Keyblade Master!

Frozen with genuine disbelief, Riku did not fight the embrace, and there beneath the weight of responsibility, Sora felt an unmistakable tension in Riku’s shoulders.

Fear.

Sora had felt this same tension in his best friend just minutes ago when he’d leapt on him, unable to contain himself when he’d finally woken from the Realm of Sleep. Riku, who had risked everything to pull him out of that abyss, who never seemed afraid of anything… He was afraid now. But why?

As Mickey approached them with his own congratulations, Sora released Riku, a conviction now written in his friend’s body language despite the tension there. Whatever was eating at him, it seemed like he was ready to face the reality of his promotion.

An earnest smile lit Riku’s face as he turned towards Sora, and Sora’s heart stumbled when Riku’s eyes met his.

“I owe it to my friends.”

Friends?

The sudden knot in Sora’s throat made it difficult for him to respond, so he was glad when Lea cut in to interrupt the heartfelt moment, even though his mind was somewhere else right then. _I owe it to my friends._ For Riku to admit something like that, after all of the dark bitterness and jealousy and guilt that had torn him down and created that rift between him and Sora… All of that pride, all of that rivalry--

Gone.

Riku had grown so much in this past year, Sora had trouble recognizing him sometimes. After everything Riku had gone through, Sora couldn’t help admiring his best friend’s strength. Whatever had changed inside of him, he seemed so much stronger now, more focused, like he knew exactly what he was fighting for.

So then what was that fear lingering inside of him?

_After becoming a master, Riku just wasn’t like how he used to be with me. I missed the little things, like him slapping my back to scare me or messing up my hair. He didn’t do any of that anymore. And every time I touched him, he was always so tense… _

_When we were kids, Riku wasn’t afraid of anything. Not monsters, not darkness, and especially not of showing how much he needed me. I’m not sure when Riku had stopped showing that… But I think he started hiding it because he was afraid of showing just _how much_ he needed me._

“Nnngh…”

There it was again.

Heart pounding, Sora scrambled out of bed and leapt to Riku’s bedside to see what was wrong. His best friend thrashed against the sheets, groaning or growling--Sora couldn’t tell if this was desperation or anger, just that Riku needed his help.

Through the light of the moon filtering through their open window, he could see Riku’s knitted brows and his lips drawn back, expression distraught. He was still asleep. Whatever memory or nightmare this was, Sora had seen enough of it.

“Riku…” Pushing against Riku’s shoulders, he shook him and raised his voice. “Riku, wake up.”

A sharp gasp greeted him. Riku’s eyes snapped open, wild with panic, and he threw a hand out as if to summon his keyblade.

Sora caught it with his own.

“Hey, it’s ok…” Sora curled his fingers over Riku’s and held it firm, not letting him go as Riku struggled to find his bearings. “Yen Sid’s tower. The others are in the room next door.” Offering Riku a grin as if nothing was wrong, he leaned in to whisper. “If you listen close enough, you can hear Goofy’s snoring even from here!”

Even through Riku’s frightened breaths, he could hear the muffled medley of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy’s distinct snoring.

Riku drew in a long breath and held it, as if to better listen to them, and then closed his eyes and released it a moment later, all of the tension leaving his body.

Silence stretched between them, and Sora stayed with him, hand in hand.

Though Riku said nothing about his nightmare, Sora of course wondered about it but did not ask. Despite all of the horrors he had been through, Sora had no trouble sleeping, even now, because he felt safe around his friends. Around Riku. Maybe it had something to do with Riku being his dreameater, but he couldn’t help thinking about all of the terrible things Riku had been through, especially recently, because of him. What had Riku seen down there in that abyss…?

As he curled up on the bed beside Riku, who silently welcomed him under the blanket, Sora wished there was a way to banish his dreameater’s bad dreams. He swore he would do everything he could to help Riku fight those shadows lingering in the cracks of his healing heart, even the ones he might have created himself.

_Riku had faced his fears to save me from the darkness, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still afraid. He was haunted by the choices he’d made, the friendships he’d lost, the worlds he felt responsible for… But worst of all? His shame. Like he didn’t deserve me as a friend after all the things he’d done. _

The trees below the tower seemed to stretch forever, a sea of green ridges along the horizon beneath the starry sky. Sora often found Riku out here sitting on the edge of the precipice alone, a make-do perch for his home away from home, though it was no paopu tree.

Tonight had seemed no different than usual, but when Sora had settled beside him on the grass, he’d recognized the faraway look on Riku’s face. He’d come a long way from the scared kid who had given in to the darkness and forsaken his home, but keyblade master or no, Riku conquering his fears hadn’t actually gotten rid of any of them. They were still there, shackled inside of him, both his prisoners and his tormentors.

When Riku broke the silence and began to shed light on what was in that heart of his, Sora watched the quiet storm behind his eyes.

“The road was empty. There was just the drum of my heartbeat and my shoes against the path. I had no way of knowing how much time had passed. There was no color, no nothing… Just me. My heart. My thoughts…

“I wandered, lost and alone, until things began to change. In the darkness, there was this… _sound…_ a hollow drone, deep and unnerving and more of a feeling than a noise.

“Then I saw them… The Heartless. Massive, lumbering shadows rising out of the black around me, their burning yellow eyes following me… always following...

“But they never attacked. At first, I was relieved about that… but as time went on, I wondered. Why not attack? Why didn’t they want me?

“Was I... one of them?”

Riku squeezed his eyes shut and clutched himself, his expression wrought with both disgust and embarrassment.

“Sorry. Forget it. I sound so dumb.”

Without hesitation, Sora clenched a hand into Riku’s shirt and buried his face into his shoulder. “You’re not dumb.” His heart was racing. Both of their hearts were, maybe. He hadn’t been expecting Riku to open up like this, but he wouldn’t mess up this precious chance. “You can tell me anything, Riku. You’re my best friend.”

Had he been thinking about Aqua being stuck down there in the darkness like he had? No wonder he wanted so desperately to save her…

Wanting to help more than anything, Sora slipped an arm around him and held him close. Though Riku’s tension never eased, Sora was just glad he didn’t pull away.

_Riku had spent so long watching over me, I just wanted to show him everything was okay. You of all people know how stubborn I am! Even if he was afraid of showing me that he needed me, I wanted to prove to him I’d be there for him anyway. It was my turn to protect him._

“Hey, looking good, Sora.”

Wait what? Riku had waited for him?

Grinning at the sight of his best friend, Sora hopped down the tower’s spiral stairs and landed in front of Riku with a flourish, showing off his new duds. “Aren’t they great? Even better than the last ones! The good fairies really outdid themselves this time, hehe!”

As Riku chuckled at him, Sora folded his arms behind his head and beamed at him.

“I thought you had left for the Realm of Darkness already to look for Aqua?” he wondered, but he didn’t hide how glad he was to be able to spend a few more minutes with him. Now that Riku was a full-fledged master, Sora hoped that he and Riku wouldn’t only get to see each other during these big meetups at Yen Sid’s tower before being sent off on separate missions...

“Almost,” Riku said, his gaze averting, and Sora recognized that hesitation in his expression, the tension in his shoulders… But then Riku seemed to come to a silent conclusion and offered him a smile. “Wanted to make sure they didn’t make you look _too _cool or I’d have to set them straight.”

Sora stamped a foot. “Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”

And as Riku laughed at him, Sora playfully socked his shoulder.

Instead of messing with him back, like he might have done once upon a time, Riku stayed his hand and tucked it into his pocket, wearing a smug expression. Beneath it all, though, Sora couldn’t forget the fear he’d glimpsed a moment ago. What exactly had happened down there in the realm of darkness that had broken Riku’s keyblade? Sora wanted more than anything to go with him, but… Yen Sid was so set on him learning the power of waking first.

“Hey Riku?”

“Yeah?”

“Best of luck out there.”

The smile that Riku gave him as he turned to leave was filled with a quiet resolve that comforted Sora, and something else. Something so inexplicably warm, Sora’s heart filled with hope.

It felt like only yesterday he had knelt on the floor of the Nobody’s castle, clutching Riku’s hand and sobbing with relief for finally, _finally _finding him. He remembered the confusion of seeing him as Ansem; he remembered the boundless joy when Riku had been freed from that darkness. Most of all, he remembered how at home he’d felt to have him back at his side_._

_But when I lost my powers and couldn’t go with Riku on his mission to save Aqua, I was so scared something would happen to Riku and I wouldn’t be there to help him. Then, something changed… _

“He said you’d try to stage a half-baked rescue.”

Sora’s heart clenched at the cruel tease.

He hated this feeling more than anything. He wasn’t powerless or stupid. He could help! He _wanted _to help. Yet here he was, stuck on a path decided by others, unable to help the people he cared about the most--and _worse,_ he was being treated like a kid!

As Donald, Goofy, and Mickey began to snicker behind his back, frustration bubbled up inside of him, and he balled his hands into fists and whirled on them. “Yeah! Laugh it up!”

How was he supposed to focus on anything besides how his best friend was about to dive _back_ into the darkness on a crazy dangerous mission when he _knew _how much that place bothered Riku? And now even Riku was treating him like he wasn’t needed…?

“Sora--”

Riku’s calm voice cut through his temper, and when Sora turned to face him, Riku’s eyes were soft and understanding.

“I know you’re volunteering because you’re worried,” Riku said, “about me and Mickey.” The proud, grateful smile Riku then offered him was enough to chase away the rest of Sora’s frustration.

“Yeah.” Sora lowered his gaze, both relieved and confused. If Riku did understand… Why stop him?

A hand curled against his shoulder, steady and reassuring.

Riku’s.

Breath catching in his throat, Sora glanced back up to find Riku standing right in front of him now, fixing him with that smile of his that made his heart balloon with warmth and the courage to take on anything.

“Well, thanks,” Riku said, his eyes earnest. “But the power of waking is important. You can come to the rescue once you’ve got that. Sound fair?”

Even as Riku’s hand slipped away from his shoulder, Sora felt the ghost of his encouraging touch lingering there, along with all of the unspoken words it had carried.

Sora’s brows knitted as a great relief filled him. “Yeah. All right.”

For the first time in what felt like ages, Riku had connected with him first, and Sora had felt it. Riku trusted him. Riku _needed _him.

_One touch of encouragement, and all of my doubts fled. After that, our hearts were more in tune than ever before. Whenever I saw or felt Riku struggling or about to fall, my heart always guided me to his side. And every time our hearts touched, I felt invincible. _

Sora’s heart felt fit to burst.

He couldn’t even begin to describe this moment--this pure rush of adrenaline and empowerment and _hope_\--

The way his light resonated with Riku’s, their hearts singing in perfect harmony and rising together as one crescendo to create something completely _new_, so completely _them, _he knew they could take on _anything._

He recognized this feeling--

It had evolved from their synchronized will to protect each other and their friends, back during their raid of the Organization’s stronghold, only it was so much stronger this time. 

Instead of fighting back to back with their hearts and powers covering each other’s weaknesses, they were now hand to hand and facing their goal together, their hearts and powers converging as one and augmenting each other’s strengths.

He’d felt this before, in the Realm of Sleep when they had been separated by dreams, but now they were here, together, hearts perfectly in sync, singing a song so bright it could cut through any darkness.

The colorful keyblade they’d created rose in the air between them, and with their heartsong rising to a crescendo, they released their entwined powers together, bathing the realm of darkness in their light.

_I guess my heart figured it out a long time before I did. I had been chasing the light without ever realizing where it was coming from… _

He’d done it. _They’d _done it.

Aqua was _here_.

After so long wandering the darkness hopeless and alone, she was safe in the Realm of Light. She was _home. _

“You’re home.”

The way Riku said it, Sora knew how much this moment meant to him. Returning to the darkness again and again to search for her, facing off against the same terrors haunting his dreams, trying to stay strong and prove to everyone, including himself, that he deserved the right to be called a master, the right to wield a keyblade, and the right to be their friend--Riku had worked so hard for this victory. He’d done his best, and in the end, when he’d faltered...

He had reached out to Sora.

Sora would never forget that.

As Aqua bathed in the warm light of the islands and tears streamed down her cheeks, Sora and the others surrounded her to welcome her home, Donald leaping on her and Mickey wrapping his arms around her, then Goofy, one by one in a massive group hug.

Though Sora had only met her once so long ago and hardly remembered it, he felt no qualms about joining in with the others. This sweet victory meant everything to them, and Sora knew without a doubt that this would change everything; this was the tipping point in the war, and now they could save the others.

Heart soaring, Sora glanced up as Riku approached the group hug last, as if hesitant to join in.

Their eyes met, just a glance.

Sora didn’t care if his eyes were filled with happy tears. He beamed up at Riku to welcome him and share in this perfect moment together.

When Riku smiled back at him and set his hand on his shoulder, taking the initiative, Sora was too overjoyed to stop himself. He reached up towards Riku to welcome him, letting him know this was okay.

Not expecting the touch, Riku hesitated and started to withdraw his hand--but Sora didn’t stop. He wrapped his arm securely around Riku, gripped his jacket, and pulled him closer to join the group hug.

Just like that, Riku’s hesitation faded.

He rested his hand back on Sora’s shoulder, more confident this time, and softly joined in with everyone’s mirthful laughter.

And as Sora held Riku against him, he finally felt the tension in Riku’s body begin to loosen, like the worn strings of a violin giving way to mending hands.

Aqua wasn’t the only one to find home that day.

_I used to get this nightmare… I could never really remember any details, just that something terrible had happened and I had given up hope. But right as my world was being swallowed by black, there was always a blinding light that moved through me and touched my heart, giving me just enough strength to believe. _

_I don’t know why, but I think Riku was that light. I think he’s always been my light. _

_But you knew that, didn’t you? You always knew me better than I..._

“Hey.”

“Wah!!” Sora gave a start, his pen striking through his letter. “Riku!” A moment of panic spread through him as Riku trudged through the courtyard grass to Sora’s bench. Sora did his best to hide the contents of his letter while pretending to act like he hadn’t just been pouring his heart out on paper. “Hehe, training’s over already?”

Riku swiped a hand through his damp hair and pulled it to one side where it clung to his neck. He was dripping sweat, though Sora could only tell from the neck up; Riku’s keyblade armor did a great job hiding how brutal of a session he’d just had.

Across the courtyard, Terra had his head swung back as he downed his second carafe of water. To Sora, it looked like he’d hardly broken a sweat, but judging from the amusement on Aqua’s face, Riku must have impressed her.

“Yeah. Almost had him this time,” Riku said. If anything, he seemed thrilled by the challenge. Sora beamed up at him, forgetting for a moment what he’d been doing moments before, but Riku hadn’t. He smiled back at Sora before turning his gaze down to the letter he’d been writing. “Another letter to Kairi?”

Sora covered the words with his arm. “Uh, yeah!”

Instead of teasing him as usual, Riku offered a reassuring smile. “Tell her to come visit.” With a punch of his palm, he dismissed his keyblade armor and collapsed onto the bench beside Sora with a heavy sigh.

Relief washed through Sora when Riku didn’t press him about the contents of the letter. Not that Riku ever did, but still! Sora was glad he didn’t have to explain why he was blushing so hard right now. “Yeah, good idea.” Never mind that Kairi had just visited yesterday. He understood Riku’s unspoken words.

Sora smiled to himself as he watched the other man relax and cool off in the shade of the castle. Now that the armor was off, he could see how drenched Riku’s undershirt had gotten.

“Man, you’re _soaked_.”

Laughing, Sora reached up to swipe Riku’s hair aside so he could better see his face.

Riku’s fingers wrapped around his.

Their eyes met.

In the space of a heartbeat, Riku turned his face to breathe a kiss into Sora’s palm, his silver lashes fluttering closed as he took a moment to just enjoy Sora’s presence.

Warmth bloomed inside of Sora, whose heart sang from the open affection.

When Riku finally lowered Sora’s hand and kept his own wrapped around it, Sora grinned up at him. “You know, we should totally visit Rapunzel next week. The last time I was in Corona, she said the festival was coming up!”

“Oh yeah?” Riku said, looking interested. His fingers slid between Sora’s, lacing comfortably together, and then rested on the bench between them.

“Yeah, and this time I’m gonna teach you how to dance!”

A raised brow was Riku’s answer, but it was accompanied by a relenting smile, likely knowing Sora wouldn’t be denied.

He didn’t have to say a word.

Instead, Riku’s thumb slowly traced across the back of Sora’s hand, writing yet another melody for their harmonized hearts.

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the "Cross the Line" Riku/Sora Fanzine!


End file.
